"Recalculating" - Whose directions are you listening to?

Jun 9, 2011

Jeff and I recently completed a business trip to the great state of Wisconsin.  We had business in Madison and Milwaukee and finished up the week at the Midwest Claim Conference in Lake Geneva.  As we were driving around Wisconsin, a beautiful and rural state, we were relying heavily on our GPS.  Everything went smoothly between Madison and Milwaukee thanks to a construction heads-up from my nephew (thanks, Andrew), and the GPS seamlessly delivered us without incident to our desired location.  However, our trip from Milwaukee to Lake Geneva was a little more typical.  At one point on the trip, our GPS (with the female British accent) repeatedly sent us down a recently closed, dirt road.  With every attempt to adjust and find another route, we were met with the now familiar "Recalculating".  Every time we followed "her" directions, we ended up down this dirt road to nowhere.  After more attempts than I'd like to admit, we finally stopped to ask directions from a heavy equipment operator.  In less than 30 seconds, he gave us simple, accurate directions.  We turned our British companion off and successfully navigated the new route to our destination.

I can't help but think of this recurring situation as a metaphor for our industry. As consultants, we frequently participate in operational reviews of claim departments.  These well intentioned investments generally identify new, simple, accurate directions that if implemented, would allow the organization to successfully navigate to their desired objectives.  Unfortunately, the pre-loaded, GPS like directions often continue to control the destiny sending these organizations down what should be closed, dirt roads.

Maybe it's time to stop "recalculating" and ask SALT for directions.

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